March, 2019
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The Writing Gym Retreat
Are you having trouble finishing (or starting) your next book? If yes, I have the answer.
Hey guys, Annalisa Parent is hosting a fantastic retreat in Devon, England on May 5- 10th. There is one spot left and she is offering it to one of my authors. If you want to be that author, check out
www.datewiththemuse.com/england
You’ll write every morning in a group guided salon, lead by seasoned writing coach Annalisa Parent.
Spend 5 days and nights getting inspiration from the luxury country Manor House on the edge of Exmoor, a national park famous for its beautiful coastline and spectacular views. while enjoying home-cooked meals made from local ingredients.
Annalisa is very picky about who she works with and lets into these retreats. So it would be best if you apply from that page. She will schedule an interview with you to speak ASAP.
This is a great program and I would love to see one of you take advantage of this amazing opportunity.
How to Transfer Your Expanded Distribution Book to Ingram Spark From CreateSpace/KindleDirectPublishing
You went to CreateSpace or KDP and uploaded your self-published published book to them, and they offered you a free ISBN. You took them up on their offer and proceeded to upload your book so that you could be on Amazon. Okay!
But now you are thinking about bookstores and libraries and want to start getting your books in there. No problem, right? After all, you saw on Create Space (now KDP) that they could get you into bookstores and libraries all you have to do is click the “extended distribution for bookstores and libraries” button.
Not so fast! Unfortunately, when Create Space/KDP offers you bookstore and library distribution, they’re doing it by using a third-party Print on Demand company called IngramSpark. IngramSpark is the second largest POD company after KDP. They’re owned by the Ingram family in Lavergne, Tennessee (they also own Ingram Distribution and Ingram Wholesalers.) While all three of these companies are owned by the same family, they are three separate companies that do different things.
To get into bookstores and libraries (Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million), you need to be in a wholesaler. Ingram Wholesaler is the largest book wholesaler in the US and the best one to be in. They have the furthest reach, and more bookstores and libraries use them first than any other wholesaler.
The fastest and easiest ways to get into Ingram Wholesaler is to sign your book and your publishing up with Ingram Spark. (You CAN apply to Ingram Wholesaler as a non-POD publisher, but they have VERY high standards, and most small publishers are not accepted.)
It is not only acceptable, but it is also IDEAL to have your book files up on KDP AND up at IngramSpark at the same time. I have an article explaining why here.
WHY YOU NEED BOTH INGRAMSPARK AND KDP
Ideally, you will want your book up on Amazon through KDP, but you want your book up for bookstores and libraries through IngramSpark. To get in the Ingram wholesaler there are a number of steps you need to take.
This will allow you to get the best profit from Amazon from KDP and the best distribution options to retailers through Ingram. If you have your own Ingram Spark account, YOU set the discount, and returnability factor and YOU own your distribution decisions… not KDP.
Ready? Here are the steps you need to take:
FIRST – You have to confirm that the ISBN you have on your book belongs to YOU. If you took an ISBN from Create Space or KDP, then you don’t own it, and you cannot take that book anywhere. (If you already have an ISBN and that you bought from Bowker or your own governmental agency you’re ahead of the game – you can skip this part…) But if you got an ISBN from Create Space or KDP, that means that they own your ISBN, and THEY own the distribution rights to that edition of your book. This is not good. I’ve written an article explaining why here:
Buy your own ISBN from the proper entity. If you’re in the US, go to www.myidentifiers.com
SECOND – Sign up for an Ingram Spark account at WWW.INGRAMSPARK.COM. There’s an actual instructional videos on their site you will find helpful Here is one here:
Once you’re all signed up for Ingram spark and they have all of your tax ID and bank information, you’re ready.
Sign into IngramSpark, give them your book information and upload the new file with the new ISBN.
THIRD (A) – FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAD TO PURCHASE NEW ISBNs AND ARE UPLOADING NEW EDITIONS.
Once you have your new ISBNs and you’ve registered the new edition of your book (yes, if you put a new ISBN on the book it’s a new edition) it is time to upload the new files (interior and cover) both to KDP AND to IngramSpark.
THIRD (B) – FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO GAVE CREATE SPACE or KDP EXTENDED DISTRIBUTION:
Your ISBN is in KDPs IngramSpark account and needs to be released from them before you can proceed to claim the book at IngramSpark.
This is how to get KDP to release your title and allow you to claim it at IngramSpark:
Sign into your KDP account and go to the distribution tab. Uncheck extended distribution to bookstores and libraries. You need to uncheck that button telling KDP that you no longer give them permission to offer your book through their IngramSpark account.
Next, send KDP an email through the customer service contact portal telling them that you have unchecked permission and asking them to release your book from their IngramSpark account.
Next, fill out the form found on THIS page:
http://help.ingramspark.com/hc/en-us/articles/211155403-Title-Transfers
Then email the form and the ISBNs and titles of your books to: ingramsparksupport@ingramcontent.com
Wait for 5 to 7 business days to hear back from KDP and IngramSpark that KDP has released your ISBN from their Ingram Spark account and hear from Ingram Spark that they have accepted your title transfer.
Once you have completed the third steps (A or B), you will confirmation emails letting you know that you are all set. Log into IngramSpark, and you should see your title in your dashboard.
For those that are worried about losing existing Amazon reviews on their KDP listing… once your new edition is up on Amazon, you CAN get your reviews from the old edition up on your new edition. You have to go through your Author Central account and call the author central customer service group. (yes, they still have a phone number!) Just ask them to duplicate the reviews onto your new ISBN edition.
Hope that helps!
Has Amazon Gone Too Far?
Amazon Published Books Are Taking Over Amazon Marketing
By Keri Rae Barnum
For years Amazon has been known for their self-publishing platforms, Create Space and Kindle Direct Publishing. When Create Space first broke into the publishing scene, indie authors were elated, and Amazon was celebrated as the friend of indie authors everywhere. However, times have changed, and we are no longer sure we can trust Amazon as an unbiased platform for authors.
In 2000 Amazon created their first self-publishing platform, Create Space from the seeds of Book Surge. Under this name they grew and practically became synonymous with the words “Indie Publishing.” Authors that once had to fight agents and publishing houses for a voice in the book industry suddenly had the ability to publish their own titles on a platform that catered to indie authors, publishers, and small press.
Amazon knew a good thing when they saw it and cultivated this arm of their business. As eBooks expanded, so did Amazon’s publishing platform and in November 2007, KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) was launched. While Amazon has since merged Create Space and KDP into one company, KDP was originally a platform that catered specifically to eBooks. Requiring the use of specifically formatted files and pairing with their own (Kindle) devices, Amazon aggressively went after the eBook market, carving out a nice chunk for themselves. Always looking to go bigger, Amazon Publishing began in 2009 and, in the last ten years, has grown to include 16 publishing imprints specializing in everything from children’s and teen books (Two Lions and Skyscape) to romance (Montlake Romance).
Today, Amazon Publishing is listed as one of the top publishers in the United States, and we can all guess where they have garnered the majority of their sales. This begs the question: has Amazon crossed the ethics barrier by not only publishing books, but also boosting the success of their own titles with insider information and biased marketing practices on Amazon.com?
It may sound like a crazy theory, but we aren’t the only ones asking. In a recently published article, “The Wall Street Journal” addresses this very issue. Taking our cue from them, we decided to investigate our theory a bit more.
A search of the Amazon bestsellers pages revealed a list laden with books from Amazon’s own imprints. In fact, a gander at Amazon’s Romance Best Seller list showed no less than half of the top 8 books were published by one of Amazon’s imprints.
Take a look at the picture below taken on March 7, 2019. Note the titles circled in red as those published by one of Amazon’s imprints.
On the same day, we visited the Mystery, Thriller and Suspense Best Seller list. Again, four of the top 8 books were published by an Amazon imprint.
Seeing that at least half of the books on the Best Seller lists in the above categories were comprised of Amazon imprint books, we began to wonder. Are these books really that good? Or, is Amazon using insider knowledge to push their own books above the thousands of authors who trust and invest in Amazon’s self-publishing platforms and marketing tools?
As arguably one of the largest sales outlets in the world, Amazon has reams of data on buyer trends, as well as what marketing keywords and ads results in clicks and sales. Amazon says its marketing and retail programs don’t give its books an unfair advantage. However, we at New Shelves are questioning the honesty of that statement.
Have a look at the sponsored products listed on the sales page for #1 Best Seller Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen.
Three of the titles that won ad space from Amazon Marketing are Amazon imprint books. By pitting their own titles against those not published by Amazon in sponsored (paid) Amazon ads, Amazon is effectively inflating the cost of advertising for those without insider knowledge. This system also works to push Amazon imprint books to the top of the proverbial pile.
Our friends over at ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) noted the rising cost of Amazon Ads last September. Now authors and publishers are lamenting that not only have marketing cost risen but impressions are way down. For those of you that don’t know, an impression is when your ad is on the screen (computer, tablet, phone, etc.) of an Amazon customer. This comes at the same time as reports of Amazon making deals with big publishers for ad space.
If a savvy marketer cannot even get their book seen by using Amazon Marketing with a healthy budget, how can they possibly hope to sell books?
We fear that Amazon’s greed has gotten the best of them and indie authors are slowly losing purchase on a once celebrated platform.
D5 Creation